Lutfi set to be named Pakistan coach

By Alam Zeb Safi

KARACHI: Former Pakistan coach Tariq Lutfi is expected to replace Akhtar Mohiuddin as the head coach for the national team which starts its preparation for the Olympic qualifiers against Malaysia on Saturday (today) at the Model Town Ground in Lahore.

Reliable sources told ‘The News’ that Tariq Lutfi, has reached Lahore and has been seen on Friday walking with the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) Director Grassroots and Youth Development Siddique Shaikh. Tariq, who recently took Pakistan’s women’s team to the semifinals of the First South Asian Football Championship in Dhaka, has also acted as manager with former Pakistan coach Salman Ahmed Sharida.

“It is 90 percent confirmed that Tariq Lutfi will be announced as head coach for the qualifiers,” a source close to Tariq told ‘The News’. “Tariq has a solid background as a coach and he also commands respect from the players and the PFF is committed to announce him as a coach,” the source said.

“Had the PFF wanted to retain Akhtar as a coach, he would have been announced much earlier,” another source in the PFF said.

Sources said that Tariq Lutfi is going to meet with the PFF president Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat on Saturday (today) and there is a great chance that he will be sent directly to the camp.

This is the first time in the football history of Pakistan that the announcement of the coach has been delayed to such an extent.

Akhtar Mohiuddin, who had acted as head coach of the Pakistan team during the Asian Games held in China last year, should have been an automatic choice. But Tariq, who is more experienced and is about to retire from his department PIA in the near future is expected to yield positive results.

Meanwhile, the PFF unveiled 46 probables for the camp for which the players have started approaching the Punjab capital. “I hope that the full-fledged camp will start on Monday,” the PFF secretary Col Ahmad Yar Lodhi said.

Surprisingly emerging international goalkeeper Aamir Gul has been dropped for the coming assignment. Aamir had been serving as a backup to the country’s prime goalie Jaffar Khan for the last one and a half year.

TARIQ LUTFI IS GREAT COCH 2005 MAIN DHAKA MAIN PAKISTAN SEMI FAINAL MAIN PONCHA THAA YE HE COCH THAY

http://www.sindhfootball.com Zafar Ali

Another bad khabar from pff. Both Siddiq Shaik and Tariq are usless. They do nothing for Pak in last 30 years. Why Faisal Sahab is approving them. It is big risk to apppoint such usless outdated men in pff. Faisal muis choose young coiach

http://www.footballpakistan.com Waheed Nagra

i only dislike on thing of Lutfi that he is very against to put forign player in the team…….

http://www.footballpakistan.com Waheed Nagra

so i really hate him for this reason……

http://www.lahore.pk Imdad Awan

Yes ved , your are write that Malaysia will rape u like hell….they are recent ASEAN champion. If siddiq , having zero qualification ruling A to D coach in PFF and Lufti who in also zero, will stay for Malayssia game

There no need to depend on Akhtar Mohi, T lutfi , Siddiq shaiki. They must leave pff. Please ask some one else to coach pakis vs maly.

http://www.footballpakistan.com Riaz Ahmed

Inshallah Tariq Lutfi National Team ka saath apni commitment ko pura karka tamam naqadin ki zaban bandi kardain ga. The only coach of Pakistan Football history who has two gold medals in SAFF games and historical win Pak-India Series. ReqAll the Football Lovers

http://www.footballpakistan.com Riaz Ahmed

nshallah Tariq Lutfi National Team ka saath apni commitment ko pura karka tamam naqadin ki zaban bandi kardain ga. The only coach of Pakistan Football history who has two gold medals in SAFF games and historical win Pak-India Series. Request to all Football Lovers to strong his hand and appreciate the commendable decision by President PFF Makhdoom Faisal Sualeh Hayat and also wait and see.

Shah

Riaz sb he didnt win those SAF Games gold..he was team manager and not coach. It was Salman Sharida who won 2006 and Chinese coach who won in 2004. Yes he was coach in 2005 Indo-Pk series but that was won a goal difference…look where they are now and where we are. But he should be given time so lets see…

Well then you just have to look what Sharida brought out of those players and we won matches and Akhtar couldnt and Lufti couldnt..domestic coaches struggle to stand up to the fed and demand things and select players on merit which is our only flaw.

Now no coach will criticise our domestic football, pff or facilities or offer suggestions..George and Graham both highlighted playing surfaces and need to improve those..1years after George Kottan..nothing has been done to address that!

My father and chacha played with Tariq Lutfi for Young Azizabad FC. My uncle also played with him at PIA. They say that he is an average player. Nothing impressive, but his coaching record is better than anyone else in the country. So he is the right man for the job, since we can’t get a foreign coach. Being a defender or not getting a lot of playing time has nothing to do with being a successful coach. Graham Roberts was also a defender. Tariq Lutfi is actually a midfielder.

http://www.FootballPakistan.com Malik Riaz Hai Naveed

Coaching record does not make a good coach.

Shah

Couldnt agree more..like i said above he has huge lobby that supports him and 6players from PIA already shows that even when Bilal wasnt even their first choice GK.. those who know the real football in Pkn have not pinned their hopes on this because they know how this has come about..would be good to prove them wrong.

abdulsidd

Coaching record obviously means something. If you have two candidates who are equally unknown to you, then your obviously going to consider their record. Lutfi isn’t unknown, but he is the better option out of a bad bunch. Basically the lesser of several evils. I doubt that any of our less experienced domestic coaches would be successful in this mission too. Although I wouldn’t have minded if Hassan Baloch or Khalid Butt got the job, but they wouldn’t have done much either. Basically every domestic coach will be involved in politics and will have biases, so if you can’t go for a foreign coach, then you have to compare experience, coaching record, and qualifications and choose the best domestic coach based on that comparison.

Khalid Butt, Hassan Baloch, and maybe Akhtar Sahib should all be in the coaching staff as assistants. Especially Khalid Butt, as his experience coaching WAPDA in the President’s Cup may be valuable.

faisal amir

tariq lutfi is responsible for all our four golds……………..
no question and no arguments plz.

Younas

There is no more bad news then this. Lotfi should be in politices he not deserve as national coach . He is not professional has qualification is not enough for as coach. He have C license course and as for national team minimum requirement is at least B license . According to FIFA and AFC rule. So in this case we are broke the role

younas

dear abdulsidd i dont know ur name but as u write that akhter should be asst coach with lotfi then its mean u dont know about football. or may be i dont know about football. if u compare akhter with lotfi then akhter have A licence and lotfi is just C which not enough for as national coach acording to AFC and FIFA rule.
second i remmeber words about lotfi from johan lyton and and david that how its possible that lotfi is coach he dont know any thing about new football throry .
its like middle (lotfi) and master (akhter) this is the differnce.

doctor

y are u using fake names to slate lufti?

abdulsidd

When you get your facts straight, then we can talk.

younas

tariq litfi and sheikh sahib is the most controversial coaches in our history

younas

dear doctor i dont know u r doctor or not or what is ur name.but one thing i know my name is muhammad younas and regrading to this if u need any proof i can provid you. about me you can ask from lotfi or sheikh sadqui both know me very well.
i love football and i want to promte football in pakistan and for tha i do some events in pakistan like from 2000 to 2004 i was every year arrange inter embassy diplomatic football chompionship in islamabad.
i did B licenece goal keeping course. i am french national from pakistan origion. and i am working
here for one football goalkepper acedmey for gross route level.

http://www.footballpakistan.com Gauhar Mahmood Azeem

my name is gauhar mahmood azeem, i am a student of MBBS, i am also an admin here, you can google me if you want :) and I am just saying that you have commented against lutfi by the names of sawira, wiqas ahmed, martin! please dont do that, we get your IP address :D

emir.mukhtar@hotmail.com

lol.Gauhar that was exactly the first thing that came to my mind after reading so many comments against lutfi all of a sudden on every possible article…..

younas

doctor sahib u can find me in lotfi facebook list and from there u can know about me.

http://www.footballpakistan.com Gauhar Mahmood Azeem

i am doctor!

younas

so first u say i am not younas and now u attaching some other peopel name with me.
dear doctor i am not against lotfi being a human may be he is good man. i am just against due to has qualification. and if you know about football then how he do coaching …….. no more commenet its better u ask from those player who play under him then u will know better…………….

younas

a coach should be just a coach nothing else. but if he is not coach then he will be ready for as manager or any other post too. and its not professionalism. how he treat with player no commenet. he pass C licence course long time ago and never refresh or adopt new theory. he is over confidance.
for being a good coach you should be have good relation with ur players.
you should know about new thing in football.
you should know about all player mentaly and physically and if there is some error then work on that.
you should treat every player different according to there mentaly level and there syco.
but lotfi no commenets